1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of building automation and more particularly to a system and method for automated building service brokering.
2. Description of the Related Art
Large building complexes such as office buildings and warehouses have various systems and devices that require monitoring, periodic maintenance, and repair when problems arise. For example, building air conditioning systems, smoke detection systems, fire alarm systems, security systems, lighting systems, and medical monitoring, each need to be monitored to ensure that each is operating properly. Additionally, each system must be repaired when problems arise and, generally, each system can require periodic maintenance to ensure that the system is in working order in addition to alarm notification.
Typically, building management professionals maintain maintenance records which can indicate scheduled (preventative) maintenance and routine repair. Such records can be used to remind building management to schedule service providers to perform routine, preventative maintenance and repair on the various building systems. Moreover, when routine, preventative maintenance and repairs have been completed, a maintenance record can be updated in which the performed maintenance is noted as well as the date on which the maintenance or repair was performed. Additionally, when a building system experiences a failure, a service provider can be contacted and alerted of the need for unscheduled repair (or alarm condition). When the necessary repairs have been completed, a repair record can be updated in which the performed repair is noted as well as the date on which the repair or maintenance was performed with this information archived in a data base.
Presently, such maintenance and repair records are created and updated manually. Manually monitoring building systems for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and repairs can be a complicated and time consuming task that requires intervention of dispatching personnel. Similarly, scheduling required periodic maintenance and unscheduled repairs for multiple building systems can be even a more complicated and time-consuming task. These tasks become even more difficult when multiple building or locations are involved. Therefore, automating monitoring systems for multiple building or locations can be useful.
Currently, various automated systems exist for monitoring building systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,514 to Bergeron et al. for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPATCHING SERVICES discloses a method and system for the dispatch of resources to remote sites in response to alarm signals. More particularly, in Bergeron, a control system can access a database of field service engineers designated to provide services to particular remote sites in response to alarm signals received from those sites. Subsequently, the control system can repeatedly and sequentially attempt to establish communications with designated field service engineers in the database in order to request servicing of the detected alarm signals.
By comparison, U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,846 to Storch et al. for METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING A SERVICE REQUEST RELATING TO INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES PROVIDED TO A CUSTOMER PREMISES teaches an integrated system for processing a service request relating to installation, maintenance or repair of a local loop extending from a telecommunications company central office to a customer premise. Significantly, the Storch system can track the status of the service request, for example whether line conditioning equipment was installed or replaced.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,634 to Kinser et al. for COMBINATION SYSTEM FOR PROACTIVELY AND REACTIVELY MAINTAINING TELEPHONE NETWORK FACILITIES IN A PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE SYSTEM discloses a reactive and proactive system for detecting and correcting network facility faults and potential faults. Notably, the Kinser system automatically authorizes and prioritizes service based upon service requests and pre-defined criteria. Moreover, like the Storch system, the Kinser system also can track the progress of a service request.
Significantly, each of the Bergeron, Storch and Kinser systems has various inherent limitations and problems. For instance, these building system only respond to alarms and to diagnostic results produced by diagnostic programs. The systems cannot be configured to track and schedule the routine and preventative maintenance of building systems. In addition, though some of these automated systems, in response to detecting a system failure, can retrieve a list of available service providers to perform the repair or maintenance and can attempt to contact service providers sequentially in the list, none of these automated systems can attempt to determine which of the service providers have technicians geographically proximate to where repair or maintenance is required for the most expedient repair action.
Current automated systems also are limited in their ability to contact the service providers once the appropriate service provider has been located. Some of the existing automated systems rely solely on standard telephone communications. Others rely on e-mail or fax communications. Still, none of the existing automated system include methods of communication which can consistently and reliably alert a service provider of the need for repair or maintenance of a building system in a timely manner. Finally, current automated systems do not effectively track the status of a repair or maintenance. Moreover, current automated systems do not effectively track when a repair or maintenance has been completed. Likewise, current automated systems do not archive historical data as to the repair and maintenance for each building system. Thus, present building automation systems are deficient in their ability to monitor building systems, to selectively dispatch service providers for performing routine, preventative and unscheduled maintenance and repair, to track the progress of such dispatched service providers, and to maintain records of such repair and maintenance.